Page 115 of Tangled Up In You

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Did Caroline hand the ring over to Phoebe?"

"I don't know. Rebecca was coming down the hall, and I didn't want her to see me, so I ran into the next room."

"Then you told Erica about the diamond?"

"Not until after Caroline died. She was talking about Ray's inheritance and how she thought he should have gotten more because Caroline was a rich bitch, and I agreed. I said I heard she was giving this huge diamond to Phoebe."

"And that started the plan in motion," he said. "Your sister hired Mercer, didn't she?"

"Yes," Brenda admitted. "After Caroline died and the boxes all got sent to Phoebe, she told him to find the diamond."

"Was Phoebe alive when he got to the store?"

Brenda nodded. "He didn't expect her to be there. He pulled his gun on her, and he said she gasped and put a hand to her chest and then she just passed out. He saw some people walking down the street, and he was afraid they were going to think he killed her, so he left."

"And he almost killed a little girl as he sped away," he said grimly.

"I don't know about that. He tried again to get into the store, but the alarm went off."

"He went back two more times, but he kept running into the new owner."

"Yes. He said he was done a couple of days ago, but Erica kept pushing him to try one last time. She told him she'd give him a bigger cut."

His pulse leapt. "He's going to try again?"

"I think so. I told Erica to make him stop. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

He didn't know if he believed her concerned attitude for even one second, but he had more pressing concerns. He called for backup, then cuffed Brenda.

"I thought you weren't going to arrest me," she said, tearing up. "I'm just a cleaning lady. I don't have much. My only mistake was to tell my sister about the diamond."

"You can tell that to your lawyer," he said harshly. "When is Mercer going to try again?"

"Soon. They know you're asking a lot of questions, and they're getting desperate."

"How much does Ray know?"

"He doesn't know anything. Erica and Mercer have been having an affair for years. She wants the diamond ring so they can start a new life."

"And what's your cut?"

"Ten percent of whatever they sell it for. She said it would probably be close to fifty thousand dollars. I've never had that much money in my life."

"You took ten percent and gave your sister ninety percent?"

"She and Ethan have to split it. She said they're taking more of a risk than I am."

"And yet you're the one in cuffs," he said, as Brodie arrived in his squad car. He explained the situation to Brodie and asked him to take her down to the station. Then he got into his car and headed to Molly's. If Ethan Mercer was going to try again, he needed to get her out of there.

Molly paced around her apartment Friday evening, feeling restless and unsettled. Work had kept her mind off Adam, her mother, and big decisions. But now she wasn't at work, and she didn't know what to do with herself. As her gaze moved to the urn, she said, "Well, Phoebe? Got any ideas for me?"

As soon as she'd asked the question, she realized what she needed to do. She needed to think about Phoebe, about where her final resting place should be. Her gaze moved to the three photo albums that Caroline had put together for her best friend. She'd only ever looked through the first one. Maybe there was a clue in one of the albums. Caroline had known Phoebe better than anyone.

She grabbed all three books and took them to the coffee table. She sat down on the couch, looking at the titles scrawled across the first page of each book:This Was Uson the first book.This Is Uson the second book. AndThis Could Have Been Uson the third book.

The first album had taken Phoebe and Caroline to age sixteen. The second album began when the women were in their twenties. They were getting out of a limo at what appeared to be a movie premiere. Caroline was on the red carpet talking to interviewers while Phoebe waited in the background. There were also photos of Caroline alone or with one of her husbands. She was pictured all over the world: in front of the Taj Mahal, riding an elephant in Africa, drinking champagne in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Then the album turned to Phoebe: There was a ribbon cutting in front of her store, and this time it was Caroline in the background. Other shots caught Phoebe singing at Micky's Bar and Grill during karaoke night, dressing up like a witch on Halloween, reading a book at the lake, and then surrounded by a troop of Girl Scouts at a jamboree. Phoebe and Caroline had gone in different directions in their lives, that was clear.

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